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Friday, March 9, 2012

The Accidental Chocolate Cake (grain-free, dairy-free)

A few weeks ago, the night before Valentine's Day, my daughters asked me to make cupcakes and frosting to give out to their friends at school. I had an idea to make a healthy frosting using almond butter and coconut oil. Thinking that I needed to chill the frosting for a while before spreading it onto the cupcakes, I made it first. A few hours later I took it out of the refrigerator to whip up into what I thought would be this beautiful, light, and fluffy frosting. For a second it did look like that, and then the oil began separating. My girls tried it and said it tasted good, like brownies, and that I should bake it! I was so busy that night that I didn't have time so I got to it the next morning, Valentine's Day. I decided to add 2 eggs and put it in the oven....and voila....a beautiful, moist, tender chocolate cake emerged!

I took photos of it that day, what you see here, and planned on testing it one more time before posting it. We then took a trip to visit family for nearly two weeks. I tested it there and everyone loved it. My dad said I should call it "the accidental chocolate cake!" I've been so busy finishing our new cookbook that I have not had much time to post to our blog. Over the next month I have a few guest posts scheduled. After the book is done, I'll be back. In the meantime, enjoy this yummy cake!

Chocolate Almond Butter Cake

Serve this cake with a dollop of coconut cream (the top layer of a refrigerated can of coconut milk) and fresh berries if desired. I think you could also double the recipe and bake it in two 9-inch cake pans for a layered cake.

Place all ingredients into a food processor fitted with the "s" blade and process until combined. Pour into the pan and spread out evenly. Bake for about 30 minutes. Cool, slice, and serve. Source: www.NourishingMeals.com

About the Author

Alissa Segersten holds a Bachelor's of Science in Nutrition from Bastyr University. She is the founder of Whole Life Nutrition, the mother of five children, a whole foods cooking instructor, professional recipe developer, and cookbook author. She is passionate about helping others find a diet that will truly nourish them, and offers elimination diet recipes, healthy gluten-free recipes, paleo and vegan recipes, as well as tips for feeding your family a nourishing, whole foods diet. Alissa is the author of two very popular gluten-free, whole foods cookbooks and guidebooks: The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook and Nourishing Meals. She is also the co-author of The Elimination Diet book. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram!

Every once in a while when I'm out of eggs, I substitute a banana and have great results when baking. Bananas would also sweeten this recipe which would be great for those looking to substitute sweeteners as well. I can't wait to try this recipe!

It's probably good, like virtually everything from your blog, but this one is just to rich in calories (using Almond Butter vs. flours). There are so many other recipes that are fastastic without this many calories --- unless you are using it as an energy bar or something.

I was hoping you could help me with an allergy question. I have been eating grain and dairy free (and sugar) for 41 days. I was planning on adding each back in one at a time. I ended up traveling and eating at someone else's house, so both got added back in. I woke up to acne on my chin, an upset tummy, and my husband said my breathing was bad last night. I also struggle with fatigue. Do these symptoms point to one allergy more than the other one? Also, how do you deal with eating well when traveling? I appreciate you taking the time to help me.

Oh, yummy! My poor daughter may be able to have chocolate cake again! But, the only sweetener she can tolerate is pure stevia. If I leave out the syrup, would I sub with the same amount of milk or other liquid?

Oh, accidental successes are my very favorite, Ali! :-) This cake looks fabulous ... right up my alley ... and I see you have one great review here from someone who has already made it! You can't have more proof of its goodness than that. ;-)

Thanks so much for linking it to our GFE Virtual Gluten-Free Support Group and the mention on that!

I'm newer to your site but I've tried a few things here and there. I'm so truly grateful for a site such as yours! I made this cake today and I must say it was AMAZING! It tastes so much lighter and cleaner :) I was worried about it not being quite sweet enough for my little ones so I made a few adjustments. I added 1 Tbsp of coconut sugar and 2 teaspoons of unsweetened applesauce. It turned out great!! Thank you so much for such a great, easy to follow recipe! Oh, btw, I used a hand mixer also and had no problem for those of you who may not have a food processor. Happy cooking everyone!

Deeeelicious! I made this as soon as I saw it--easy peasy! I had roasted cashew butter on hand but not almond butter, so that was my only substitution. The batter seemed very thick so I was worried it wouldn't be very cake-like (and figured I could blame my cashew butter consistency) but it turned out wonderfully. We've been snacking on it all weekend! I wondered if it would be sweet enough as written and it really is! Thanks for a great recipe.

I just made this using chia in place of the eggs, stevia and apple sauce in place of the maple syrup and carob powder in place of cocoa powder. It did turn out dense (more like a fudgy brownie) but it tastes amazing. Thanks for another great recipe!

This cake is amazing. Made two and layered with organic grassed chocolate buttercream frosting for a birthday cake. It was a huge hit. Lighter and fluffier than I thought it was going to be. This cake is brilliant!

Hi meg I am going to try making it with rice malt syrup instead as it is fructose free. It is available at Coles in the health food isle. Or online health food stores. Use the same amount as maple syrup or a little bit more if you like it sweet (I usually just substitute the same amount)

I'm just baking this now! Made a few tweaks using honey instead of maple and peanutbutter (Wizzed it up myself) instead of almond butter. So far so good, in fact it's suprisingly good. I'm not allergic to dairy or wheat but making for friends who are. Can't wait to eat it with them <3 x

I wonder how this would work with ground whole almonds or unsweetened creamy soynut butter instead of almond butter. My son is allergic to peanuts and some treenuts which all almond butters I've ever seen may contain.

You can actually buy whole almonds and grid them down into a butter yourself to make almond butter since your son has peanut allergies. Making it yourself is way cheaper and super easy. I add in Coconut oil to my almonds when grinding them myself to make it more creamy ;)

Wow! Just discovered this little gem of a recipe on your site last week. Bought the roasted almond butter and whipped up the cake. I ate the WHOLE thing in 3 days! That has got to stop. Since this recipe is too expensive for my budget it will now be saved as a special treat for something like Christmas Eve. And, the next time I'll be sure to freeze most of it immediately so I can actually enjoy it for longer than 3 days.

You are amazing and so is this recipe. Thanks for sharing this with us!

This may be the best accident EVER! I just made this and am still in shock at how simple, healthy and totally delicious it is. Before eating my baked goods, my husband usually asks me if it is "real" - meaning does it taste like a traditionally unhealthy cake from a boxed mix or something full of butter and white sugar instead of my version made with beans or other "secret ingredients." Well, he just ate this and LOVED it. He says it our new go-to chocolate cake. I mixed it an electric mixer and beaters and omitted the almond extract since I didn't have any. Delicious! Thank you!

This recipe was amazing - truly! a keeper for sure. I was wondering if you can explain to me a bit of the "science" behind your grain-free (yet super moist & cake-like) recipe? I appreciate any insight.

Welcome to my blog!

Hi! My name is Alissa Segersten and I've had a love of healthy food and cooking since the age of 10. When I was pregnant with my first daughter in 2001, I diligently began writing down my recipes because so many people would ask for them! Some of these recipes appeared in my first book, The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook. I now have 5 children and am passionate about educating them about our food system so they can make the most informed choices as they grow up and are exposed to a world of processed, chemical-laden foods. Join me in my mission of helping to support families with nourishing meals!